Health Care Experts

Hurt On The Job: The Dangers of Special Education

Date Published:

February 28th, 2018

There was recently a study done on school employees and injuries, and the results might surprise you. According to the research, workers over 50 and males had a higher risk of being injured than the average school employee, with certain occupations at a higher risk.

Food service workers, transportation workers, and custodial staff were at the highest risk for injuries. Of the licensed staff, special education teachers had the highest rate of injury. The most common types of injuries among school employees are slips, falls, strikes, and strains. However, special education professionals have much more dangerous injuries to worry about.

Special education paraprofessionals might not talk about it often, but working in special education can be dangerous. For years, these workers have been hit, spat on, scratched and screamed at by their students. Teachers, for the most part, have remained silent about this issue because they know the effects of these various disabilities and take these jobs knowing that their students can be unstable.

Special education teachers, as well as teacher aides, are in danger of sustaining serious injury. Part of their duty is to control students, which is why their training includes taking courses to learn techniques for physical restraint. These teachers should have the ability to counter aggression such as choking, grasping, and biting as well as attacks such as hair pulling and arm twisting.

When a teacher is injured by students, he or she is entitled to receive compensation for the injuries. After decades of managing costs for employers, workers’ compensation professionals and public policymakers have turned their attention to the needs of injured workers. Many doctors no longer like working with workers’ compensation cases, but LA Health Solutions believes in providing each of our patients with the results they need to receive the care that they deserve. We believe that no one should suffer through pain especially when injured on the job. Our team of specialists will devote our time in giving you the individualized attention and treatment that you need to get better quicker and return to your normal schedule. If you are a teacher who has been hurt on the job, come to LA Health Solutions today!